Rise Against

Thursday, July 3 @ Harley-Davidson Roadhouse, 10 p.m.

In February 2011, Rise Against lead singer Tim McIlrath
performed acoustic versions of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Ohio” and
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain” at the labor union
protests in Madison. Those songs are a far cry from Rise Against’s serrated
punk rock but in strong keeping with the band’s activism. In fact, the
Chicago-based quartet has been nominated for an a 2014 Alternative Press Music Award in the fan-voted “Artist Philanthropic”
category for its work with the Shirts For A Cure project, which provides
financial assistance to underprivileged women unable to afford expensive breast
cancer medicine and therapy. (Winners will be announced July 21 at the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.)

Meanwhile, Rise Against’s latest full-length album, 2011’s Endgame, is a musical tinderbox
detailing the perceived demise of civilization via the devastating effects of
homophobia, bullying, Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Last fall, the band released Long
Forgotten Songs: B-Sides & Covers 2000-2013, a 26-song collection
featuring cuts originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen (“The Ghost of Tom
Joad”), Black Flag (“Nervous Breakdown”) and Journey (“Any Way You Want It”). A
new studio album is slated for release later this year. (